Saudi Arabia’s King Salman phones Russia’s Putin over Syria

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud have discussed resolving the crisis in Syria during a phone conversation, the Kremlin says.

According to a statement released by the Kremlin on Monday, during the call, which was initiated by Saudi Arabia, the two leaders exchanged views on “all the questions associated with resolving the Syrian crisis, including four-way talks.”

The statement was referring to recent talks held between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his US, Turkish and Saudi counterparts.

In a meeting in the Austrian capital Vienna on Friday, Lavrov met with US Secretary of State John Kerry,Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir and Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu to discuss resolving the crisis in Syria. The top diplomats of the four countries reportedly agreed to hold another meeting this week in an expanded format with delegates from other countries.

According to the statement, Putin and Salman also discussed the recent developments in Palestine. “The two parties expressed their concern at the growing deterioration in the situation.”

A fresh wave of tensions was triggered in August by the Israeli regime’s imposition of restrictions on the entry of Palestinian worshipers into the al-Aqsa Mosque, the third holiest site in Islam after Masjid al-Haram in Mecca and Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina.

Palestinians are also angry at increasing violence by Israeli settlers, who frequently storm the al-Aqsa Mosque.